The Artful Parent

A graduation cap

Okay, first of all, I have to say that I think preschool "graduation" is about the silliest thing ever. However, I suppose some sort of ceremony/gathering is a nice way to mark the end of a year. Maia's been going to preschool a couple days a week this past year and, although she has at least another year ahead of her before we think about kindergarten, she "graduated" today. While she refused to participate in the ceremony (she has some of my crowd shyness), she coveted another kid's handmade graduation cap and asked to make one when we got home.

So I cut out some pieces of posterboard, let her decorate them, then we assembled the whole thing with staples and glue. Et voila -- a graduation cap for a preschooler.

And this is the best of the blurry action shots of the kiddo wearing it.

Liquid watercolors: one of our favorite art materials

We love liquid watercolors in this house. They're vibrant, versatile, and fun to use. We've used them for so many different kinds of projects ranging from coffee filter art (and butterflies), shaving cream painting, regular watercolor painting, marbling, more marbling, and probably some others I don't remember at the moment.

Maia asked to use them again recently and I decided to try them undiluted for once. Usually I dilute them about half and half with water, which works well and makes the watercolor bottle last a looong time. However, I wanted to see what they were like full strength this time so just gave them to her as is.

In the photo above, she has squirted the watercolors on cardstock then dragged a comb through the paint.

Bright and vibrant and wonderful!

I'll still use them diluted sometimes, but now that I know how wonderful they are undiluted I'll remember to use them this way more often.

Although they tone down a bit when dry...

An owl for the baby

Maia made this pen and watercolor drawing the other day and said that it was an owl for "her" baby. I love it! I think I'll frame this one.

On another note, I had my Mohs surgery for skin cancer yesterday. Fun times I tell you. I'm now missing a chunk of my forehead and am sporting several stitches -- 3 interior which they said just get absorbed over time and 4 exterior which will be removed in a week. Everyone else I met there was between 60 and 80 years old, so I guess I'm getting a head start.

Monoprinting take II -- Success!

Okay. We really got it this time. While Maia and I had fun last time, I wasn't as happy with the final results and thought that the process could be improved for younger (and older) kids so that it was both fun AND produced a crisper final product.

First of all, we used a couple of acrylic box frames we had lying around since pink and green mama, a printmaker, suggested doing the prints on glass or plexi. This worked so well! Not only were the box frames easy to work on and easy to clean up, they also produced a crisp print edge without effort since they were elevated. The second big change was using rollers to apply the paint in an evenly thin layer. So no gloppy mess.

After rolling the paint on we drew our designs using the q-tips as before.

Here, Maia is telling me she drew a hospital kit for her friend Marlise.

Then we pressed the paper over the image. See the nice crisp design and edges? I love it.

A couple more prints. This one is a "baby duck inside a sack inside her mama's belly."

And this one is "a brain -- it's a part of your body." So... Give this project a try. It was fun and effective. If you don't have an acrylic box frame, try a piece of plexi or glass (from an unused frame) or maybe the lid of a washable box (I'm eyeing our tin domino box) or ?

Leaf printing in the nature journal

We packed a picnic and headed to the arboretum yesterday with the intention of making leaf prints. Maia filled her little backpack with the nature journal (which we're just starting), some stamp pads, and an assortment of colored pencils and markers. We collected leaves from all around us. Since it was an arboretum, some plants were labeled and I would write the name next to the print. Others were unlabeled or I else I was confused about which label went with which plant.

First we pressed the leaves to the stamp pad, using the back of a spoon to make sure that the leaf was thoroughly inked without getting our fingers black in the process.

Then we pressed the inked side of the leaf to the paper, rubbing all over with fingers or palm to transfer the image.

They worked beautifully! We tried both fronts and backs of leaves, as well as a few flowers. Although we also brought green and brown stamp pads, the colors didn't show up nearly as well, and we ended up sticking with the black. Our ink pad was a little small for this project. If a leaf was too large, I would ink different parts of it separately before printing, but Maia would just rip off a piece of leaf if the whole thing didn't fit on the pad. Which was fine. She still got good prints that she oohed and ahed over. But having a larger ink pad might make the project easier for a young child.

Maia and I talked about leaf shapes and how the pattern of their "veins and arteries" vary on different leaves. But mostly we just had fun printing and finding new leaves to try.

Summer pajamas with FOE

In preparation for what is usually a hot summer (hard to believe right now when we just had a frost warning Monday night), I made some lightweight pajamas for Maia. We don't have AC, so cool nightclothes are especially important in our house. I used the rest of this sheet to make the hippo pajamas above thinking it was very apropos using a sheet for pjs. This photo was taken after she slept in them which is why they are so wrinkled.

For the top I followed the instructions for the peasant blouse at Just Tutes, substituting the simplicity of fold over elastic for the regular elastic. I used FOE for the pants too, although otherwise I followed a pattern I had on hand. Next time I'd probably just use a pair of her pants as a pattern or a simple tutorial such as this one.

I also made a nightgown using some lightweight cotton and the same peasant blouse tutorial, just making it longer. The pajama top above was a tad small, so I enlarged the pattern for the nightgown and ended up with one too large at the neck. I added a couple of darts, though, and it fits perfectly now although doesn't look quite as professional (the darts were added after the FOE).

I have something to confess. With this latest sewing frenzy, I've started entertaining thoughts of making my own cloth diapers. Have any of you done this? I used cloth diapers with Maia and thought that was hippie enough at the time. It never occurred to me to sew them myself. But can they really be that difficult? I've been obsessing lately about all the patterns out there, including those on this list. And, what about wool soakers? I haven't used them but keep coming across them on the web. Do they work? I assume so since people use them, but aren't they itchy?

Monoprints on the tabletop

I was so inspired by Patricia's post on printing, that after mentioning it yesterday I immediately went into the studio to see if we had everything we needed to do the same.

I followed the instructions at Let's Explore and taped off a rectangle (and one for me, too). We just used our tabletop since it's very washable, but you could also use a placemat or cookie sheet. Maia painted in the rectangle, then drew designs in the paint with q-tips (her favorite part).

You're supposed to wipe off the taped edges before making the print and we did when patience allowed -- i.e. a couple of times. I think an easier way to get a clean rectangular print with the younger kids would be to place a cheap pre-cut mat (or cardstock with an opening) over the painting before pressing your paper down. Also, Maia used a lot of paint which got a little blotchy and obscured the drawing once the print was made. A roller might be a good way for a toddler or preschooler to produce a thinner or at least a more even layer of paint.

We both had fun doing these and will definitely try it again. As usual, our versions are a little more free-form. As Maia get's older I imagine her designs will be more identifiable, but for now I'm enjoying both the abstract art she produces most of the time as well as the more occasional person or skull that she draws.

Skull drawings and some artful ideas around the web

Maia's into drawing skulls lately, and even drew a lion skull (the one with whiskers). Just thought I'd share. Is dressing in all black next?

And, for something completely different, here are two of my current favorite artful ideas found around the web:

Patricia at good + happy day turned her dining room into a print studio for an afternoon, inspired by this post. I'd LOVE to do this with Maia soon! The prints are so beautiful and the process looks like lots of fun.

I also love SouleMama's post on drawing with the whole family. She covered her table with butcher paper, set out art materials, and everyone took turns choosing themes for the family to draw. I think we all need to do this at home. What a wonderful idea.

A new blouse from an old men's shirt

I'm on a clothing repurposing kick at the moment and finally made something for myself. Here's a new shirt for me from a lightweight button-down men's shirt. I found the tutorial here at Jezze via whip up. Basically you cut off the collar and the sleeves, make a big pleat in the back and some little ones in the front to gather in the material to fit your frame, and add elastic at the sleeves.

I may make some more for this summer of the growing belly --Â there's plenty of room in these large men's shirts and they're better for protecting my skin than the tank tops I usually wear all summer. Also, IÂ love how they look -- kind of old fashioned -- and can wear them after the pregnancy.

I followed Jesse's instructions for the most part but used six pleats in the front instead of four, making the pleats shorter because of the pocket. And in the back I sewed the back pleat down the entire way, rather than just at the very bottom. Also I squared off the bottom of the shirt because I like that look better than the tails in the front and back.

Other things I've been doing lately -- eating yummy chocolate some friends sent me, making carrot cake cookies, trying to eat healthy despite the above two items, and gardening in short spurts (I'm getting tired much quicker than I usually do).

Two mamas at the arboretum